Measurement

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has extended until Oct. 9 the public comment period for proposed updated regulations to ensure accurate measurement, accountability and royalty payments for oil and natural gas production from federal and Indian leases.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Friday issued proposed, updated regulations to ensure accurate measurement, accountability and royalty payments for oil and natural gas production from federal and Indian leases.

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) on Friday issued proposed, updated regulations to ensure accurate measurement, accountability and royalty payments for oil and natural gas production from federal and Indian leases.

National Oilwell Varco Inc. (NOV), the largest oilfield equipment supplier in North America, beat profit forecasts in 3Q2012 on solid demand in the deepwater and overseas, but the U.S. land drilling market has stalled, executives said Thursday.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and a Silicon Valley maker of measurement instruments, Picarro Inc., have expanded their collaboration on a technology for detecting natural gas pipeline leaks. PG&E will deploy six of the vehicle-mounted Picarro Surveyor gas leak detectors. PG&E said it is the first utility in the nation to use the new technology (see Daily GPI, Feb. 3). Picarro and PG&E contend that the leak detection equipment is 1,000 times more sensitive than traditional leak detection equipment with capability to detect leaks down to one part-per-billion in ambient air while reducing false positives from naturally occurring methane.

Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) and a Silicon Valley maker of measurement instruments said Monday they have collaborated on a technology for more accurately detecting natural gas pipeline leaks. PG&E is the first utility in the nation to begin applying the new equipment in its upgraded pipeline safety programs.

FERC Thursday issued favorable environmental assessments of Tennessee Gas Pipeline’s and Dominion Transmission Inc.’s proposed system expansions to deliver Marcellus Shale gas to growing markets in New York and New England.

Columbia Gulf declared a force majeure Monday for meters upstream of and including the Egan (LA) Measurement Stations (Meter Nos. 433, 434, 437, and 438) due to high water around the Pecan Island Compressor and Separation Station resulting from Hurricane Rita. Physical flow and scheduled volumes at the affected points have been reduced to zero until further notice.

The first measurement of a usually obscure factoid by a part of state government was widely reported last weekend, when California state water resources officials trudged up to several key points in the Sierra Nevada range 90 miles east of Sacramento and measured snow levels at two-thirds of a normal winter already. That translates into greater hydroelectric resources, which translates into a better chance for the state avoiding blackouts this summer. It also means less gas demand for power generation in the state next summer.